Lightning Arrestors

At any moment, there are more than 2,000 thunderstorms happening throughout the world. These storms combine to produce around 100 lightning flashes per second, each one with a potential of up to a billion volts, currents ranging up to 200,000 amperes and temperatures of over 30,000 degrees Celsius.

The purpose of lightning protection is not to stop the lightning from striking but to control the path of the lightning after it hits. Lightning is most likely to strike something with a good path to ground, such as a steel tower.

G&S Industries can supply a product proven to be effective in lightning strikes. Formally named the "Lightning Finial" and informally referred to as the "Lightning Arrestor", this product is used as part of a lightning safety system to protect our columns and their operating equipment from lightning damage.

Manufactured from mild steel and hot dipped galvanized, Lightning Arrestors are attached to the top of the column using a secure, screw in bolt system. At the base of the column is another screw in bolt attached to a lug ended cable which routes into the ground, providing an effective, direct way for the electricity to pass to ground. This cable is sometimes attached to a grid of ground earth rods or an earthing mat surrounded with a special conductive product such as bentonite.

If our standard Lightning Arrestors are unsuitable for your particular application, we can design and manufacture a customised product.  Our Lightning Arrestors are usually supplied with our columns, however they can be supplied separately, complete with Spigot Adaptors and attachments, for situations such as adding lightning protection to existing columns.